Tuesday, 24 August 2021

Garden News

Following a period of dull, drizzly weather, we started this week with glorious sunshine, and things 
have suddenly moved on in the Roskhill garden.

Maybe the biggest news is that the build of the 'garden room' that is destined to become our art studio/pottery/greenhouse is now well underway - pictures below.

I have also been spurred-on to give some attention to the allotment and have begun to harvest some of the produce that has grown this year. Pretty much everything has done superbly well again, with the brussels sprout plants as big as any I have ever seen. The sprouts won't be ready to pick for a while yet though.

The concrete base had been laid a few weeks ago.
By mid-morning of day one of the build, the first wall was in place.

By the end of day one, we had four walls

It's a very substantial building!

At the end of day 2.
I am standing in what will be the lean-to greenhouse. 
Unfortunately, it will be a few more weeks before that gets delivered.

On the allotment - I have harvested one of four rows of potatoes 
- I grew three different varieties this year.
Beyond - the cleared bed is where the onions grew, with bushy carrots at the end.
Runner beans and broad beans to the right,
kale and brussels sprouts almost out of sight below the fuchsia windbreak hedge.

The harvested onions dry in the sun on a step ladder!

No caption needed!

Friday, 20 August 2021

SUE'S SECOND SPONSORED STROLL

 Yep, I did it again and for that amazing Charity
so close to my heart -  Cancer Research!

Readers of this blog may recall that back in July 2018 
I tackled a 26 mile marathon around Roskhill - where we live on Skye.
This time I increased this to 30 miles for the day 
and really enjoyed both the training AND the occasion itself.....:)
Below are a few photos taken along the route of the 11.5 hour trek!!


It was a rather gloomy morning hence the above 'moody' photograph
of Dunvegan Churchyard.  Lovely floral arrangement though .....:)


........ and a very unusual plant base in the one above 
situated at the end of the village opposite the
Free Church of Scotland.   Very eyecatching though.


Above is the township of Roag in the distance - 
but can you also spot the small flock of geese in the foreground?


A favourite walk from Roskhill has always been the 
Harlosh Loop - from which the above shot was taken.
It was still cloudy at the time but began to brighten up a bit later.....


... but in the meantime I happened upon this bank of amazing 
wild flowers including my favourite 'meadowsweet' which 
has a wonderfully aromatic scent....  :)
The beautiful purple flower is Hedge Woundwort.


      Above is a view across to Macleods Tables from Harlosh.   
The blue skies were starting to make an appearance by then....


My friend Sue joined me for part of the Roag section!
We had a real laugh! 
It was Sue who joined me back in 2018 doing the Harlosh Loop together.


From Roag my walk took in the moorland across to the Glendale 
Road and then an amble down to the end of Uiginish 
where I sat for a breather and took the photo below....


.... which shows the view across to Dunvegan Castle and the woodland
surrounding it.  By then the weather had really cheered up.


By 2.30 p.m. it was definitely lunchtime though!!
Collapsing on the bench just along the road from the
Dunvegan Camp Site -  it was very pleasant taking in 
the above view across Loch Dunvegan whilst 
chomping away on peanut butter sandwiches and fruit!!


A complete change of scenery followed as having walked through
Dunvegan village, I then took the footpath through the 
woods and up out onto moorland the other side.  
By then the weather was even brighter and it was hot too!!


Love this view of the monkey puzzle tree looking across 
to one of Macleods Tables  - 
plus the one below of the snaking track across the moorland 
from the tree by the gateway onto the A850.


By then I was well and truly on the 'home straight' but not 
without taking a photograph of the river running across the moor
with Macleods Tables in the background....:)


Thirty minutes after taking the above photo 
I was back home clutching a very welcome LARGE mug of tea!
It had been a very long day but the magnificent scenery and sheer joy 
of walking through it - plus the terrific Cause for which this trek had been done 
made it all absolutely worthwhile !

Saturday, 7 August 2021

More Flowers

As my last couple of posts here will testify, I have been paying closer attention to the local wild flowers this year than previously. And what a wonderful variety of size and shape they come in!

Now, a few weeks on from my last post, most of the smaller flowers are gone, to be replaced by taller and larger plants, some of them so vigorous that they form drifts of colour on the roadsides and meadows. Most have grown over a metre in height in the last couple of months.

Very common  locally is the rich creamy Meadowsweet, which on a calm day fills the air with its heady scent. White umbrellas of tall Hogweed are also everywhere, as are the stunningly beautiful thistle-like Knapweed, while bright yellow Ragwort is all about too. Not so common just at Roskhill, but flowering in profusion outside Loch View Cottage, and indeed, all over the Highlands, is the brilliant pinky-purple Rosebay willowherb.

There's also a couple of other plants in flower now that I don't know the names of - so help needed again, please!


The wild floral display at our Lochview Cottage

Knapweed, Hogweed, Ragwort and ferns

The lovely Knapweed flower

Brambles

Dock

Meadowsweet

Help needed to name this one please...

... and help to name this lovely little chap, too.